Ball Family Adventures

Hunters Birthday part 2!

2012-01-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

We also like to do something special as a family for the kids birthday. We usually let them choose where they would like to go for their birthday. Hunter picked "Bounce". He loves that place!

I feel so blessed to have Hunter! He is the most amazing sweet little boy! Don't get me wrong, we have our bad moments, days, weeks...but seriously he is amazing! He is always telling me he loves me, randomly, without being prompted. The other day he said, "Mommy you look so beautiful"! He actually likes to play with his little brother. He enjoys learning, reading coloring writing. He also has become a little overly obsessed with video games lately....

He is so sweet and kind, and is always willing to help me when I need it. I just love him so much. We fell so lucky to have him in our family!

This is their cousin Cole and my sister in law Lindsay.

Wyatt always goes on his tummy!

Hunter going down upside down, head first!

Playing with Grandpa!

Wyatt just ran around in circles!

Mommies turn

At first we didn't know what this was...but it ended up being the gift of the night!!! It was a nano bug set, which we have since added to, the bugs get used ALL of the time and we are constantly in need of new bug batteries.

Wyatt got a little present to from his cousin Cole, since they weren't able to come to his birthday party in August.

And we ended up at Del Taco afterwards for dinner. We usually end up at mexican whenever we are with the Brysons! We LOVE mexican food!

Hunters 4th Birthday

2012-01-18T18:36:00.000-08:00

Hunter decided that he wanted to have a Pirate Party for his birthday. I loved the idea and so we decided to run with it! That is one really fun thing with boys, pirates, bugs, dinosaurs, cars..lots of fun party options! Anyway my sister in law told me about a treasure chest cake. I decided this would be a much easier feat than a pirate ship! And the kids thought it was amazing! Every other year the kids get a friend party. This way Hunters year. So we had all his best friends over for a day of celebrating. One thing I LOVE about Hunter is that he never wants to leave any one out. His initial list of friends was more than 20 people! So we had to rule out kids over the age of 6! This brought it down to an even 8! Now that I can manage!

Here is his treasure cake! A huge success!

Pirate patches and bandanas!

My sister in law was a plethora of information! Thanks Natalie! She had done a pirate party before and was Super helpful! We had the kids "walk the plank"! (the green things are suppose to be crocidiles)

This is Elley, Hunters girlfriend <3

Here are the boys coloring wooden pirates!

And the girls....we couldn't get all of them into bandanas....Maybe next time!

We went on a huge treasure hunt all through the yard and across the neighborhood.

The treasure was found on the "island covered in trees"! the kids loved it!!

All the goody bags were inside!

Back: Carter, Elley, Hunter

Front: Jackson, Avery, Molly, Kaia, Spencer, Wyatt and Grace

Getting ready to blow out candles

There he goes!

Uncle Jon is VERY funny! And he provided a free comedy act!

Like I said, VERY funny!

Carter had a TON of chocolate!

Hunters friends: Carter, Spencer, Molly, Elley, Hunter, Jackson (Avery and Kaia) were also there but left before we took this, and Grace was chillin with her mom.

I love the looks kids give when they open presents!

I can just hear him, "Oh my gosh! This is so COOL!"

Labor day weekend & Dagger Falls

2011-10-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

There is a place way back in the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return that we LOVE to visit. It is called Dagger Falls. There is a great waterfall for the kids to look at, a nice place to picnic and some great hiking trails. We took the kids in there for Labor Day weekend. Our last weekend camping....that always makes me sad. Anyway, we had tons of fun looking at the falls and running around with the kids. My uncle and his wife came with us, with their children and we had a great time

Josh at Dagger Falls

Dagger Falls

I thought I caught Wyatt in such pretty light in this picture, totally on accident of course, but I love it!

Our little family :)

Throwing rocks

Hunter was trying to figure out how to get up on this log! (The girl in the back is my super cute cousin Sydney) Who Hunter and Wyatt just adore!

Ryan, Hunter, Sydney

They figured out how to get up. I love Hunters cheesy forced smile here.

Trying to get brave!!

And he walked all over this log. What a courageous kid!

Wyatt chillin with mommy

picking flowers

So Hunter saw the big kids climbing up the mountain rather than taking the trail back up....he thought he should try it too.

He did great but eventually he started sliding down so Josh went up to help him out!

Almost there

My grandma Bryson hanging out in her chair waiting for us youngens to come back.

Josh and Wyatt playing a little football

Reliving the glory days :)

Trigger loves camping! But we mostly have to keep him leashed up because as soon as we hit the mountains, Trigger thinks it is free range, and he ALWAYS gets lost!

Camping!

2011-10-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

We did a ton of camping this summer! Some of our trips were short, just overnight, while others were long and we spent 5 days up in the mountains. I already miss it! It seems to go by so quickly and then winter lasts FOREVER....before we get to go camping again. I should add though that I don't really differentiate between fall, winter and spring...if it's cold: It's winter. So basically mid October-May is all winter to me. Which is why I love June and camping!! Here are some pics from this summer!

Our first trip in late May

Throwing rocks in the South Fork of the Payette

I'm gonna get you!

Taking a walk

This is fairly typical for memorial day weekend. It ALWAYS rains! But, we could not keep wyatt inside. He was pretty much soaked all weekend. If you look close you can see how wet his coat is!

Hunter eating breakfast with Grandpa!

Boating and Camping our Summer FAV's!!

2011-10-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go boating several times this summer so we Took It!! Yay for more family fun! Hunter actually warmed up to the water this year and got used to the cold, and would jump in and swim around with me. Wyatt....not so much! We got him in once all summer and he never went in again!

This is Hunters friend Elley. We actually call her his girlfriend. They just love playing together and are such great little friends! The Arnolds came camping with us one weekend and we had so much fun! We will have to make this an annual event! And I have to say my friend Keely was such a trooper with a little 8 week old baby. I don't know if I could have done it. But she really wanted her girls to have a fun camping trip this summer so she made it happen! Thanks Keely, it was such a fun weekend!

This is Molly, she is Elley's little sister and such a cutie! She get's along great with the boys too! Keely and I are trying to arrange marriages with her girls and my boys :) The kids are playing in the hot pots here.

Wyatt was having a tough time :(

daddy to the rescue. But look at that forlorn face!

Molly helping out with Trigger

Elley looking gorgeous for the camera

Playing at Redfish lake

Our FIRST day of School!!

2011-10-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

So this post is about 2 months late! Man, I feel like I get SO behind in blogging... I have all these great pics from camping this summer and Hunters birthday, and I just never have enough time! Anyway, Hunter started preschool this year! AND he loves it! I knew he would, he loves being out of the house, he loves learning new things, and he loves having time just for him. It is good for Wyatt too, he is learning that life still goes on with out Hunter around every minute. Although for the first week he cried every time Hunter left for school! Hunter has a great teacher and he just loves her. He always talks about showing Mrs. Rowles this or telling her that. It is so cute. I am glad I put him in, he was ready and so was I! I do miss him though and I love going to pick him up and bringing him home :) He is getting so big. He always tells me, "mom, I can do that now because I am four!" He is so sweet and such a great helper. We sure do miss him while he is gone!

Number 3

2011-09-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

So I seriously debated writing this post.... But I am not really one to keep events in my life super private. Most of you probably know this especially if you know me well. I am feeling a little sad tonight. It seems to get worse at night. I hate that. I wish my nights were as busy as my days. Then I wouldn't have time to think about it. You know?

Anyway, we found out last week we were pregnant! We were so excited, for so many reasons! We couldn't believe it only took us FOUR months! For us that's fast. The baby was due in May, right after tax season, but 3 months before girls camp. It was perfect! Not to mention the boys keep asking when they are going to have a baby sister...

On Sunday I started spotting, I was a little alarmed because this never happened with the boys. But the nurse said it could be normal, lots of women have spotting. It stayed that way most of the week, but Thursday night it was obvious. We were miscarrying. So I spent most of the last two days living my normal life, but knowing that in those very moments, we were losing another baby.

I say another because we had two miscarriages before Hunter and Wyatt. They were DEVASTATING. As a woman with no kids, you wonder, will I ever have kids? What if I can't? How will I live without children? But, then we had the boys! The two most joyful moments of my entire life (well and my wedding day of course!). We have been so blessed by the life, light, and happiness that they bring into our lives! They are so amazing and I love them so much. Just last night Wyatt woke up in the middle of the night. I was a little annoyed, but when I walked into his room, he said, "mommy, hold you". And I thought, Heavenly Father really knows what I need right now. I am in the middle of a miscarriage, but I have a baby, two actually. And they both love me and I love them. I felt such a sweet peace.

There are a million questions I could ask... But I have done that before. And in the end their were no real answers. Why me? Why so many miscarriages? How come she can have kids? Will I ever have another? BLAH BLAH BLAH! I am absolutely determined not to do that again. The Lord loves me, and He will provide whatever is best for me in my life right now. And I won't fight that this time. I will look to Him, He is the way, He is the light. And I can do hard things.

Surprisingly it has been different this time. I am sad, I have shed a few tears. But all in all, I am really doing pretty good. I was only 5 weeks. We didn't see a heartbeat. I miscarried naturally rather than needing a D&C. AND I have two beautiful kids to look too this time. All of these things have made it easier. When the time is right, I know we will have another baby.

I hesitated writing this, I usually always put the fun, amazing moments on my blog. But life isn't always fun. It is real. And sometimes it is hard. If it wasn't then we could never become the people God needs us to be.

Lazy Summer Nights

2011-08-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love the VERY most about summer, is sitting out on the patio in the evening playing, watching and laughing with my kids. It's not to hot, we do lots of exploring and just chill and relax. I LOVE IT! Here is one of those nights:

Ice Cream cones!

They are SO stinkin cute!

picking the blackberries. This is our first go at blackberries and they came on like crazy! The boys love it. Now I just need a raspberry bush. That's mommas favorite!

Hunter and I.

Nice

Wyatt found a Rolly-polly. Which I am pretty sure is being disected!

He lives to see another day!

Hunter showing off our blackberries, which Josh missed in this photo!

Here they are!

I guess it is almost time to say goodbye to summer. This makes me sad. Even though I can hardly stand the heat and it makes me really irritable, I Love being able to be outside and do fun outside things whenever we want. I will miss camping SO much. I have a whole nine months until our next camping trip :( Now we are on to the dreary winter......Boo! But at least we get my bday, Christmas, anniversary and all other kinds of fun things scattered in there!

Bday Party Part 2 (with the friends)

2011-08-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

So we threw Wyatt a little birthday party with his Playgroup friends. He was so happy and so excited!

Hangin with the friends, eating cupcakes

Happy little boy

Blowing out his candle.

Hunter and his girlfriend Elley! We are always teasing them, but seriously they are so cute together!

Molly, Hailey & Carter

Avery and Boston

Good times

Balls

Cars

And trains! A little boys dream come true! Thanks to all of our wonderful friends for coming to support Wyatt!

Look who turned TWO!

2011-08-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

Wyatt turned 2 this week! I can't believe how fast the time goes. We let him choose where he wanted to go for his big day and we ended up at POJOS. We had a great time.

Skee Ball, this was probably 80% of our visit. Wyatt LOVES balls!

He is so silly

Here we go!

More ball games

The slide

little rides

Riding the carousel

Me and my baby!

Wyatts choo choo cake. I tried something a little more intense but it didn't turn out. In any case I thought this one was still super cute.

Wyatt got really shy when we started singing happy birthday it was adorable

Blowing out candles

opening gifts! Hunter was a huge help with this. Actually more like a little task master. He must get that from his dad ;-)

airplane

Garbage truck

race cars. We set this up and it was a piece of crap. It's going back to the store....

And last but not least the TRAIN TABLE and SET from his grandparents! He absolutely loves this and was so excited for us to get it set up!

Western Idaho Fair!

2011-08-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well I have to admit, we have never gone to the fair (Josh and I) that is, until we started having kids, and now we never miss it! We had so much fun this year. We went with my family, my parents, brother and my sister ChrisAnn. The boys had a blast!

At the petting Zoo! Wyatt just loved the goats eating out of his hand!

My three boys. They are SOOO handsome :) How did I get so lucky!

Nice cow

Wyatt is amazed he is allowed to get this close!

(Yes) We are those idiots that get wrangled in to paying for pony rides. But look at that face! How can I resist?

A little unsure at first...

Oh yeah, he's got this down

He's warming up!

The four wheeler ride! After we took Wyatt off of the previous ride, he was so upset because he wanted to ride "more" . He cried so hard, and like usual would not breath in and passed out right in the middle of the fair. I HATE it when he does that! But then we took him on the 4 wheelers and he had a blast.

I love the fair, the food is SO good, but seriously it was SO hot. I could hardly stand the heat! We tried to go into the expo building to look at the photography and get out of the heat. But the kids weren't having that so we finally gave up at around 10:30 and called it a night!

Summer Happenings!

2011-08-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

So it's summer. And i have been one heck of a loser! The blogging thing just gets a little hard sometimes ya know?!
Anyway here are some of our going and comings:

Hunter is newly into dressing up in costumes and pretending to be a SUPERHERO! It is really quite cute :)

Wyatt has recently discovered that you can drink the milk from the bowl after you finish your cereal. He is loving this new trick. (Isn't he great at it!)

Riding the horsie. Not sure why this one is so grainy?

Swim time! We love sitting out in the pool playing.

Wyatt has to do EVERYTHING his big brother does!

Ride'n Cowboy!

The other day Hunter was laying on the floor on his tummy. Wyatt walked over and sat on him....So Hunter I think crawled up to "buck" him off, but they ended up doing horsie rides and laughing for a good half hour.

I went in to switch the laundry over. And came out to find Wyatt in the pool with his chair! Yes, he thought of this all by himself. Isn't that cute! (I blurred his little privates...I know you don't want to see that. And I am not wasting a swim diaper on 15 minutes of pool time in the back yard!)

For some reason I am starting to get lots of tongue pictures from this little one!

Exhausted! Especially daddy :)

Well there is a little about our life right now.
I am doing pretty good. I have been having lots of problems with my migraines lately. Last Monday I could barely get out of bed. I have just started working with a chiropractor, so I am optimistic that it will help.

We had a great trip up to GrandJean camping for the 4th, but I forgot the camera. We have a few more camping trips planned and then on to Fall. Hunter is starting preschool this year. I can't believe how fast the time goes. I am so excited for him. He needs time out of the house. Wyatt and I are a little to boring and some extra stimulation is exactly what he needs. And Wy and I are excited for some quality time together!

Great Cathedrals

2011-06-10T22:19:00.001-07:00

I am feeling a little sad tonight... Josh is out of town on a little golf trip, which is wonderful for him and he completely deserves it. He is the best husband, so caring so willing to help, so kind. He puts up with me being gone every wednesday night, going to enrichment, book club, girls night etc... and hardly asks anything for himself. So, yeah, he totally deserves it.

But now I am home alone, Hunter just had a complete meltdown, and he ended up in his bed passed out from shear exhaustion. This week has been a tough one. We are struggling with Hunter having lots of potty accidents, getting a little more of a sassy attitude, and Wyatt well that's another book in itself. The kid is adorable!! But SO BUSY!! He is into everything all the time. And sometimes I feel like my life is such a joke. I barely accomplish one job, and he is off destroying something else in the house. I seriously play "clean up" all day long. I say "play" because really it's just a game, my imagination telling me, that I can actually clean the house today. We all know, I can never actually clean the house and have it be clean for more than 5 minutes. It's a never ending cycle!!!

Anyway, so after a long week, I took Hunter to the movies tonight with some friends. I saved up some money since we are doing Dave Ramsey now, and planned a fun little night. Hunter just whined and complained the whole time. It was tough. Sometimes I wonder why I do these nice things for my kids just to have them act like that? Ya know??!!

So this week, I was wondering what it would be like to still be in school, learning, educating myself further. Or enjoying an illustrious career, making lots of money, feeling satisfied in accomplishing something you actually see get finished....I know, this is a taboo subject, and I even feel a little guilty writing this! But I love my kids and I love my life, and I love that I KNOW I am suppose to be at home with them. But sometimes it's hard. Sometimes the days are long, and frustrating and I wonder if I have said anything nice at all. Or if I have just been mean, bossy mommy all day long. I once heard sister Beck say that we don't become moms to receive recognition, because seriously, you DON'T get it!

I have become a mom because it was/is my divine purpose in life. And as most of you know it took me several years to have children, which I hope helps me to remember how precious these beautiful kids really are. I love them so much, I know I am suppose to be at home with them everyday. And I love watching them laugh, smile, color, play together, give hugs, take a bath, sleep, talk and everything else about them.

I got an email from a friend today, I have copied and pasted it below. Because this is how I feel, and this is how motherhood is. It is SO hard, but SO SO SO worth it. I am truly so blessed to be a mother, (tired) but blessed.

>Invisible Mother.....

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devoured - the book. And I would discover what would become from four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God sees'. I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over.

You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become'. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there...'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

Great Job, MOM!

Lets try again...Life in the fast lane

2011-04-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places! Last week Josh indulged me by taking me and the kids up to the hot springs for a Sunday afternoon drive. We took a picnic and let the boys run around and play. Then we sat down in the nice hot water and enjoyed some relaxing family time. It was greatly needed since Josh has been working like a maniac lately.

My little GQ model. I know I shouldn't be too prideful, but he is just SOOOO cute! I love this little guy.

Wyatt loved the snow this winter! He was fascinated with it.

Trying to accomplish the impossible. Picking up the biggest rock they could find and then falling over laughing. I was worried they were going to drop it and crush their little legs. I guess that's a mom for ya. But boys will be boys and I was carefully overseeing and trying to let them have their fun.

What a great time!

So in previous posts I have mentioned wyatt is obsessed with balls. I guess you could also include rocks in that, becuase really they are just an odd shaped ball that you can still throw. He carried this big rock around the whole time, it was to funny.

Wait! Wait! Apparently the boys thought it was funny to chase the cars leaving. We thought it was funny watching them.

It's getting so hard to get them BOTH to cooperate for pictures, one will and the other won't and then vice versa. This is about the best I could do.

Trying to get a pic of the boys together....Wyatt doesn't want Hunter to hug him for the picture. He was being quite a little pill this day!

Pictures in front of the fish tank. The little boy in the brown shirt is Carter, one of Hunters best little friends, the girl in the pink right next to him is Elly, who he told me he is going to marry in the swimming pool. I had to remind him we get married in the temple. He obliged but said he only wanted to marry Elly, I think she agrees with this plan, so for now were cool with it! hahahaha!

Once the weather started to warm up we started being able to play outisde again! YAY! A few weeks ago some of Hunters friends and mommies invited us to go down to the nature center. The kids love it there. We looked at all the cool fish, and then had a picnic in the park. Come on SUMMER!

HUGS!

I found Hunter asleep on the floor a couple of weeks ago....so cute. Although he was throwing a screaming fit because he didn't want to go to bed. Isn't it nice you only have to see the sweet side of it!
Today I walked into the kitchen to find Hunter doing this..... I guess I should just be grateful he is 3 1/2 and this is his first time climbing up on the counter to get something! They are muffins by the way. For some reason my kids just love muffins.

One rainy day, we had nothing to do, so we decided to build the boys a fort! They really liked it and layed in thier watching movies.

Well that in a nutshell is our last few months. Josh has been working a lot, it being tax season and all. This has by far been our toughest one, the longer he is there, the more work he gets and thus the longer hours. It's actually a good thing. Just hard on all of us. Tomorrow is the LAST DAY of tax season, and then we are home free for 8 months. We have lots of exciting plans this summer and fall. I can't wait!

I am goin to be an Astronaut!

2011-02-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

Today we had a couple of funny things happen. Just thought I would post them for your mutual enjoyment.

* Hunter told me, "mommy I am going to be an astronaut!" I didn't see that coming, nor do I think I am intellectually stimulating enough to produce a little astronaut, but hey, if the kid wants to dream big, I think he can be anything he wants.

* Wyatt kept running up to me tonight and yelling over and over, "showa, bubba, showa, bubba" for you non baby talkers out there, that means "shower, bubbles" I thought it was amazing he thought of this all on his own with no help from me, he is starting to voice his independent thoughts, so amazing to me!

* While at McDonalds Wyatt couldn't climb up a really high step, Hunter kept trying to lift him up but he just wasn't strong enough, then a couple of kids came climbing over them, so Hunter moved ahead to get out of their way, I thought he was just going to leave Wyatt there, but he called down "Hold on Wyatt, I am coming to get you!" Then he climbed down and with all of his MIGHT lifted Wyatt up to the next step! Big brother to the rescue, it was so cute!

Dont ask....?

2011-02-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

I made fruit salad for Wyatt, he loved it! But unfortunately most of it ended up in his hair!

I posted 5 new posts today, so keep scrolling down for the rest of it!

Wild and Crazy

2011-02-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

Do I even really need to say anything?? Could they be any cuter? I am SO blessed!!

Brothers!

Hunter teaching Wyatt how to use the crane. Older brothers are the best!

My future gymnast. Seriously, I use to be a gymnast and I keep meaning to sign up Hunter but I keep forgetting, plus it is expensive. However, he just started doing summersaults and headstands on his own, I think it's time.

Snack time with cousin Susie! So cute! I totally did her hair, I couldn't help myself I was so excited to have a little girl to play hair with and Susie just went right along with it!

Balls and Bubbas!

2011-02-22T15:04:00.001-08:00

Wyatt is a little obsessed with balls, he carries them everywhere, he has a huge interest in all things ball, like basketball, baseball, football, golf, hit your brother on the head with a ball, kick a ball, push balls around, fight with the kid in nursery over a ball! It's CRAZY!! Hunter never cared about balls like this!

Anyway, this is what boys do, they don't push around dolls, or even kitchen food, they fill their carts with balls, and push them all over the house!

Did I mention he loves balls?

Oh, theres my little bubbas. I still call Hunter bubbas even though he is almost 3 1/2. I am pretty much planning to call him that until he makes me stop. It helps me keep him small. Like he is still my little baby if I can call him bubbas!

More balls going into the cart!

What we have been up to...

2011-02-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

Wyatt sleeping, of course right after I did his hair and am putting on my shoes and coat to walk out the door, I walk over to the couch and he is passed out! Little Stinker!

Notice the cookie on his shirt, and one going into the mouth, this kid is a cookie monster! I can thank my mom for that!

Making cookies, AND the first time Wyatt ever actually said "Cheese"!

Eating the dough, come on people, we all know thats what making cookies are really for.

Merry Christmas...a little late!

2011-02-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, here are a few pics of the boys after the big event!

Playing with trains

and cranes

the BIG mess, and their new kitchen

and a shopping cart to go with it! I just love pics with wyatt's cute little puffy diaper bum sticking out!

Sippy Cups & "Choo"

2010-12-30T18:42:00.001-08:00

I will get around to a Christmas recap soon....promise! In the meantime, I took the boys to Babies R us with me the other day. We need 4 sippy cups to survive in our house. One for milk, one for juice, one for water, and one in the dishwasher ready to go. Over Chrismas we lost one at uncle Jon's when we went there for the BSU bowl game, and another to my brothers dog Taz, while we were dog sitting for a few days, another that we have no idea what happened to it, and one still in working condition. So we needed new sippies. Thats all, just sippies. And yet somehow we left with much more than that. (Shocking, I know).

Anyway so we put the sippies in the cart, and Wyatt started whining because he wanted to hold them, so I handed them to him. I turn my head and (you'll never guess) Wyatt starts screaming! So I turn to find Hunter trying to take the sippies away, upon inquiry he told me that "they go back here, in the cart". So I explained why I was letting brother hold them. He relented and we moved on. We wandered through the clothes, and looked at the baby gear (my little sis is expecting, so I was looking for good deals for her!). All the while my kids are whining. We finally ended up in the toy section. My kids were done. I mean done! But I wanted to look at a couple of things quickly and I thought I could push them. (Bad idea!)

Needless to say, in order to stop the incessant whining I agreed to let them each pick out a toy. Wyatt chose some stacking blocks rather quickly, Hunter however takes his time making decisions. They need to be precise and firm there is no random choices here, everything is very calculated. So Wy and I are waiting for Hunter to decide....and waiting and waiting. Finally Hunter and I start debating a little because I am trying to push him along quickly and get the heck out of there! All the while Wyatt is yelling something at me. Of course I am focusing on my conversation with Hunter so I am not really hearing Wyatt. I begin to notice his yelling getting louder and louder, my voice begins to escalate and so does Hunters...In sheer frustration I turn to Wyatt and say in exasperation, "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT?" To which he looks at me desperately and while pointing cries, "choo" "choo". "What?" "Choo" "choo". So I follow his pointing finger and see a Thomas the Train. I didn't even know he knew the word "choo, choo". Of course all of the frustration left me, I was so excited to hear him say a word I didn't teach him! It was so cute. He is so smart and I am so amazed by him! It was one of those mommy moments, where you realize that being a mom, even in its most frustrating moments is TOTALLY WORTH IT! Needless to say Hunter made his choice, we switched Wyatt's blocks for the "choo, choo" and we all left happy!

Except, I got home and opened the new sippy cups, (different than the kind Wy is used to...because they looked cooler). And of course Wyatt won't drink out of them. $15 wasted. Now I have to go buy more...

Books, books and more books!! (what could be better?)

2010-12-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

I've read 38 of them..what about you??

My reading list for the future:
Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

• Bold those books you've read in their entirety.
• Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.
Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so I can see your responses!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma -Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis (shhh...don't tell anyone)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Well I still have a long way to go. And, surprisingly, I have never even heard of some of these books! I know that seems shocking considering the book freak that I am, but I am excited to check some of these out!

Although I would like to argue that some of these books have no place on this list. I mean I love Dan Brown, but come on....ranking him among Thackery and Dickens... I don't think so, and some of my favorite classical books are not even on here....So while this was fun, and is a great start to any reading list, there is lots more out there. If you ever want any ideas let me know, and I will share with you some of my ABSOLUTE favorites!

The kissing monster

2010-12-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Josh went to pick up Hunter from nursery....and his teacher told us that he likes to pretend he is a monster in nursery and pull all the little girls down to the floor by yanking on their arms. And here I thought he was a little angel in nursery!! Guess that will show me! The leader said, that he is obviously just playing but the little girls don't like it! So here we are, with a three year old, already causing problems with the girls!!

Then the other nursery leader told us that he also kissed a girl yesterday(yes kissed her)! So we are a pretty touchy, loving family, and I am not super worried about this. What really bothered me was I asked Hunter, "Did you kiss one of the girls in nursery?" To which he replied, "no". So I said, "well your teacher told me you kissed a girl?" And then he confessed, (only because he had to) "well I did just kiss Ella." So I asked him where he kissed her at, and he said, "on the cheek, but Ella just don't like kisses mama, cause she just cry!" Oh man, so now we are trying to teach him that he can't just kiss the little girls in nursery. That we all have a little bubble of personal space and he has to stay outside that bubble.... So I have to admit, while I am being stern and trying to teach him, I do think it is rather cute and funny that he likes to tease and kiss the girls! It makes me think of that mother goose rhyme,

Georgie Porgie pudding and pie
kissed the girls and made them cry....

Pretty funny! We'll see how next week goes, we gave him a little lecture about teasing the girls, pulling them down and kissing them. We threatened to take away the "bintendo" so hopefully that will work! Now I just have to work out something to teach him about lying..... All these big rules and ideals he doesn't know or understand! What a tough job it is being a mom. Trying to teach a 3 year old what lying means!

Thank you for....

2010-12-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

So this has been a rough week. I'm not going to lie. Probably one of the busiest times of year, so much going on, lots to accomplish. And of course....my kids are sick. Not just colds sick.....REALLY sick. I mean throwing up, diarrhea you get the idea. And every time I think we are getting past this, one of them starts it all over again! AHHHHHH!

Tonight I told Hunter that he needed to pray to Heavenly Father and ask him to help him get better. That's all. Just ask Heavenly Father. So he said, "Thank you for Jesus to help me get better". And I realized that the exhaustion, the crying and comforting, the constant washing of sheets, and things....even though it sucks, is well worth it. Because Hunter knows that he can pray to Heavenly Father and that because Jesus died for us, he can help us get better.

I must say, that I love having a three year old. And I am so happy to watch him learn new things all the time. He is so smart, and funny. And so strong willed and stubborn. I imagine I was probably a lot like Hunter at his age. I love listening to him tell me he loves me. Today he said, "mommy your the best" so I said "no your the best" and he said "no you are". TO CUTE! I have also been asking him if he wants a new little baby in our house (no this is not an announcement.) He keeps telling me no. He already has a baby, named Wyatt and he only wants one. Today as I was laying him down for a nap, he said, "mommy I guess we could have just 2 babies, Wyatt and a new baby named Cooper". It was so sweet! He is such a great big brother and really loves Wyatt!

I am also so grateful for my little WyWy (as we call him). He is getting so funny and such a little attitude. If we ask him something he either yells (in a high pitch voice) "eaeaeahh" and shakes his head no, or smiles and shakes his head yes. We get a lot of no's when we ask him if he is ready to go to bed. And lots of yes's when it comes to food and drinks. Wyatt is also saying lots of words now, "ba" for ball. "Si" for outside "Sho" for Shoe and "boo" for Blues clues which is his favorite show. Although thankfully he doesn't like TV nearly as much as Hunter does. He also says "SP, SP" and points whenever he wants something. It is so darn cute.

I just love these little guys! Whether sick or not, they make me so happy. I just wish we weren't getting sick right around Christmas time. We have lots and lots of things going on. And needless to say, we have hardly accomplished anything this week. But I guess that is the way it goes sometimes. You win some you lose some. In any case I am so grateful for my three boys. They are the greatest blessings I have in my life!

My happy baby!

My little cowboy on Halloween. I didn't even pose him. He did this all on his own.

Learning how to climb trees.

Headed to the game with daddy!

My three beautiful boys.

2010-10-02T22:07:00.001-07:00

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Just a little laugh

2010-09-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

I know I know I haven't updated the blog for forever! I guess maybe when I am released as YW president I may find the time to once again blog.... for now I just have to direct your to a blog that I follow and find hilarious. This woman has 4 kids all within three years of one another and her life sounds so crazy! She always makes me laugh. This though is definitely one of my favorite posts, because it seems to mimic my own life in the fall. Hahahaha! Enjoy

http://www.glamazonmom.com/2010/09/other-woman.html

Precious Lord, Take my hand

2010-06-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Almost 3 years ago my dad was having a great deal of back pain. Upon having several X-rays taken, it was discovered that he had a fractured vertebrae. The Dr. assured him that they could fuse it back together, and he would soon feel better than he had in years... Well, during his initial surgery they took a graft from his hip to be placed upon his back. We were all so excited for Dad to be feeling better and to get well. My dad is a very athletic person. His favorite hobbies, (besides hanging out with his family, of course!) are camping, hunting, fishing, hiking and refereeing football.

Several weeks after the surgery Dad realized that while his back was feeling better he was having a lot of pain and cramping in his lower back, through his hip and down his leg. 3 years later, and 2 more surgeries have done little to help with the pain. He can barely hunt, ref football, or even mow his lawn without worrying of overdoing it and paying the price in astronomical pain the next day. You can tell it has taken a toll on him, he tries to be patient, and pretend that all is well...but it is obvious that he is constantly in pain.

Until probably about 6 months ago, I was holding out hope that we would find a way to cure the pain, and dad would go on to live a completely normal life. I now am realizing that his pain is so chronic and so intense that it may never go away. I think about my kids... and their grandpa and how badly I want them to know him and love him, like I do. He is an amazing father, he taught me how to be kind and selfless, I have learned patience and respect from him, I have learned what it means to be a Lady. He taught me how to have fun, and laugh at life. How to let go of things I have no control over. And he has taught me about love, how to give it, how to receive it, and how to learn to love those that sometimes anger or frustrate me. But most of all, my dad has taught me about his greatest example, Jesus Christ. He loves him, and has shared that love with me. He has taught me that through Christ all things are possible and all trials can be endured and overcome.

Last Saturday night, my grandpa was asked to conduct a reunion concert in the Tabernacle with the Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus. One of the songs they sang was, "Precious Lord, Take my Hand" All through this song I kept thinking of my dad. Of all of his pain...and the constant ache that he feels every day. How I can't imagine what he must be going through, or how hard it must be to press on day after endless day. But as I listened to this song I imagined that someday (for very selfish reasons, hopefully not anytime soon.) That his plea would be, "Precious Lord, take my hand...lead me on, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn...lead me home" And that one day he would cross to the other side, and holding the Saviors hand his pain would be no more. He would be able to jump and run, to play with his grandchildren, to sit down, and to work...all without pain.

To my dad- the man that taught me to ride a bike, to fish (and then yelled at me, when I caught them faster than he did!) Who pushed me to pursue my talents and dreams, and convinced me that I was of so much worth, a valuable daughter of God. I love you! Thank you for being my dad. Thank you for loving me, pushing me, teaching me, loving my husband, and my children. You are amazing, and I love and truly admire you. Your example of selflessness is truly like that of the Savior. I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I am so sorry that you are in constant pain. But I know, just like you have told me many times, that we are never given a trial we cannot handle. And you are strong and brave and tough. Like dads are meant to be. I know that with Him, you can do this too. I look up to you with all my heart and know that one day, you will take the Saviors hand, and your pain will all be gone. You will be made whole.

I love you dad! Happy Fathers Day.

Here are the lyrics to the song for those interested:

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on,
Let me stand
I'm tired, I am weak I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When my way grows drear precious Lord linger near
When my life is almost gone
Hear my cry,
Hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet,
Hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on,
Let me stand
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

I'm leavin on a jet plane....

2010-04-26T21:30:00.001-07:00

So the song "I'm leavin on a jet plane, don't know if I'll be back again...." comes to mind as I try (yes, actually try) to contain my excitement about my trip this week! EXCEPT, I'm not going on a jet plane, my mom and I are driving... and I KNOW I will be back again. So I guess it's not much like the song at all. But I am feeling so lighthearted and carefree.... YAY! I can't wait!

For about three months my mom and I have been planning a little trip. Hehehe! We are driving down to Provo for womens conference at BYU, which I love because it always leaves me so motivated, uplifted and inspired....It helps me become a better person, mom and daughter of God. And the feeling usually lasts for almost a whole year! Woot-woot! Also on the cooler side of things my amazing aunt owns some condos at a resort just outside of Park City. Which is where we will be staying... FOR FREE! Anyway...so after conference we plan to do some shopping at the most amazing outlet mall I have ever been to, in Park City. We are also making spa reservations at the resort. Double Woot-woot!

It is going to be so much fun, I can hardly contain myself just writing about it! GRATEFULLY, I have some amazing family and friends who have been kind enough to agree to help out with my kiddos, so I can have a long weekend away. Thank-you everyone!!! I love you all. And Josh is taking Friday off of work and will be with the boys for 2 1/2 days all by himself. He told me I would be lucky if he is alive when I get back (hahahaha!) Now he will get a little taste of what my life is like EVERYDAY! Although I have to admit, I LOVE IT! And I will miss my boy's while I am gone. But it's good every now and then for mommy to go get a little rejuvination. It makes me a better mom.

And as much as I LOVE LOVE LOVE my YW and my calling.... I am kind of excited to have a little break from that too. It's so much stinkin work, and it feels kind of nice to leave the Wed night activity and Sunday preparations in someone elses hands. I am CAREFREE! Well once I finish up a few things around the house, run to the grocery store, and lay the weed barrier down on the flowerbed tomorrow... THEN I am carefree! Woot-woot!

I hope all of you out there ( at least the three people that I know read my blog) have a wonderful weekend too! :-)

Dirty Jobs

2010-03-30T18:46:00.001-07:00

So I'll be honest. I am not one that enjoys deep cleaning. It seems however that I get this urge annually (or more if I happen to be 8 1/2 month pregnant). Usually once April hits I start to feel somewhat suffocated after a long winter cooped up in the house. SO, I had the urge today to gut out and deep clean my kitchen... probably why they call it spring cleaning. Last night before we went to bed I set the oven in self clean mode. When I woke up this morning, all the ash in the bottom of the oven was waiting for me...

So I got really motivated and cleaned out the oven. Then because I was still feeling okay, and the boys were napping I moved on to the microwave, then the pantry (and yes the boys were now up) and then on to the fridge and freezer! Wow! I feel good! (and dirty and grimy and gross).

I have this friend, and every time I go to her house I happen to get a glance into her fridge and it is always spotless! I am not just talking no clutter or yucky old leftovers, I mean spotless wiped down, no spills...NOTHING! Maybe this is how most of you are. I wouldn't know, but seriously, I clean out the leftovers and throw out old condiments. But Really, I usually only take everything out and scrub down my fridge 2-3 times a year. It was pretty gross today. Thankfully my entire kitchen is now beautiful and spotless, including all of the appliances and the pantry. YAY!! But I am definitely feeling pretty gross and grimy.

I am feeling pretty good about it though, so now I am thinking really ambitious. Maybe, just MAYBE I will move around each room in the house over the next couple of weeks and really gut out and deep clean the whole thing. That would feel so good! (so much work) But completely worth it.

My dad called me today and told me that a friend of his at work is getting a new patio table and she wanted to know if we wanted her old one! (Ummm, heck YES!) So now, we also have to clean off the patio. Which is pretty ghetto. (messy!) But I am happy about it! It is forcing Josh to get out there and help me finish our FINAL flower bed, (after 5 years!) and get all the rock moved off our patio (which has been sitting there for 3 years). I think it will be wonderful, not only to finally have my yard finished, but also to have a patio table to go outside and sit at during the warm twilight summer evenings. YAY! And Hunter may even have room to ride his trike around. What a spring!

so BIG!

2010-03-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

I don't know where the time seems to be going... My boys are getting so big, so fast! Who knew? We have passed several BIG milestones the last couple of months, so I have posted them for your enjoyment (and mine!) I just love these two little monkeys and am so grateful, for the joy and happiness they bring to me. What sweet boys!

Wyatt enjoying his rice cereal! Yay, big boy food! (finally)

These pics are switched around...but here is Wyatt falling over.

And here he is SITTING! Wow!! This came so fast!

"Mom, I'm not sure about this camera thing.... or my balance.....

I let Hunter do fingerpaints... and ignored him when he started yelling "Mommy" (because he always yell it, usually for no good reason)... hence the mess!

Holding his 'baby brudder" So sweet!

Wyatt is really warming up to bath time! He likes to splash!

So there you have it. Two years ago after 3 years of unsuccesfull "trying" and two miscarraiges, we finally had our beautiful baby boy, Hunter. I literally blinked.... and now I have two beautiful boys, and Wyatt is sitting?! It's true what they say, time really does "fly". Sometimes I wish the long hard days would end, then I wake up and realize two years have passed, and tell myself to quite wishing the days away, and just enjoy every minute with my beautiful kiddos. Because someday there won't be fingerprints on my T.V. or coffe table, and the laundry won't pile up, and there won't be broken peices of fishy crackers in random places around the house.... and I think, I will miss those wonderful days of messes and snacks, and diapers, and crafts, and George and blankies.

A miracle

2010-02-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today I happened upon a friend of a friends blog... her Title caught my attention, and so it is the same one I have used for this post. She had posted a story about an amazing family in Utah that had been through a very traumatic and amazing event. Curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on the link to this sweet families blog. I spent over two hours reading their sweet heart-wrenching story. I am so grateful that this woman was willing to post her whole journey, it really got me thinking about how special and fragile life is. I feel like I have learned so much from this woman and her family, it strengthened my testimony and reaffirmed my belief that by continually serving one another, and by the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father we can really see miracles happen around us.

I would encourage anyone interested to read this womans story it is truly amazing.
You will have to scroll down to the Feb 1st post to start at the very beginning.
Thank you Staker family for sharing your life with us.

http://www.stakerzxposed.blogspot.com/

The beginning of the end! (Finally)

2010-02-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

So most of you know that Wyatt has been a night-time handful! It seems like know matter how long I let him "cry it out" or how much formula I feed him, he still wakes up at least twice a night. He is officially 6 mos old this week, and I am SO TIRED! Also he has been a horrible napper, sleeping no more than 45 minutes at a time. I can't get anything done! Hunter was so easy to get to sleep through the night and nap. (Hence my first problem; comparing my two sons!) Anyway....last week I decided this must end! So I did two things, first I bought "Healthy sleep habits, happy child" by Mark Weiselbluth. (which I totally recommend as it worked wonders with Hunter). Then I cried to my two (much wiser) sister in laws about my lack of sleep. I had already decided based on the book to let Wyatt "cry it out" no matter how long it took. So I started, strong and committed. That first night, Wyatt woke up at 3:00 a.m. and cried until 6:30 when I finally got him up. 3 1/2 hours. I felt like the worst mom. No, worse than the worst mom. Not only was I still tired, now my baby was, and I had put us both through a torturous horrible night. The next day I cried to my sister in laws and they suggested three things.... (I will share them with you because they are AWESOME! and I am so lucky to have older sister to go too!) First thing they said, was to put my baby to bed at 7:00 or 7:30 (I was doing 6:00, becuase Wyatt's naps were so bad and he was exhausted). Second, and most important NO BABY IS GOING TO SLEEP WELL IF THEY ARE HUNGRY! I know this should be common sense, but listen I had been feeding the kid 42 oz of formula a day! That is a TON!(just as a frame of reference, the American Academy of pediatrics says that your baby should never need more than 30 oz a day!) How could he possibly still be hungry? My Pediatrician said to wait until 6 mos for rice cereal, so I wasn't pushing it. Anyway, we decided he NEEDED cereal, so I started him on it, that very day. (Some kids need it sooner- my SIL told me that if her kids are sleeping through the night, and then between 4-6 mos they start waking up again, it's time for cereal!) Lastly, they suggested sleep training during the day! (Why has no one ever told me about this mystical idea before) They actually let their kids "Cry it out" at nap-time, when they are awake and functioning and know that they can be strong. As opposed to nighttime, when we (moms) are weak, tired and lay awake listening to every blood curdling scream thinking "I am a horrible mom!" Make them learn to cry themselves to sleep during the day, and they are sure to be able to learn how to cry themesleves to sleep at night as well! (What an incredible thought, how am I so dense that this never occurred to me....let's blame it on the sleep deprivation shall we?)

Anyway, you are probably on the edge of your seat wondering how this all turned out. I implemented all three pieces of advice from my SIL's and miracle of MIRACLES!!!! Wyatt finally slept through the night. 7:30-6:00 a.m.!! YAY!!!! We have been doing this for a week now, and he continues to sleep through the night. To make this story even better, because his nighttime sleep has improved his naps have also improved (you know how they say the more they sleep the better they sleep, well it's true!) he is now taking two 2 hour naps and, one 1 hour nap a day! I am already a new women! Getting sleep changes my whole life. I actually think I may be able to do this again (someday), now that I am sleeping through the night.

It's the beginning of the end! I love my new (sleeping) life :)

The Latest and Greatest!

2010-02-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

Things have been so busy lately! The boys constantly keep me running, my house needs cleaning daily, I have meetings almost every night these days, and when I am not worrying about YW stuff I am just too lazy to update my blog. So my posts have been few and far between! However, we have been having tons of fun here at the Ball home. The boys are growing like weeds and Wyatt is getting so big. Here are a few pics with what we've been up to!

Hunter playing an angel during the Ball rendition of the Nativity

Welcome home Sissy & Matthieu!! (visiting from Paris)

Daddy giving Hunter a ride on his bike! Wheeeeee!!

Hunter thought he needed "up" when he saw Wyatt playing in his crib.

All smiles!

Reading books...

Sledding in Cascade :)

GRADUATION!! Yay- after lots of long hard work, here we are!

Hunter and his best little friend Ellie- eating whip cream straight out of the bowl!

A bunch of Random Stuff

2009-11-30T20:00:00.001-08:00

So I have been wanting to blog about this for a while, but I had to wait to be sustained, since most of my readers are friends from my ward. But..... I got called to be the new YW president in my ward last week. To be honest I am so excited and I have all of these thoughts and ideas constantly running through my mind! I can hardly sleep at night, EVERY night I am thinking about these girls, or meetings we have planned or things I want to say/convey to the YW and my mind will not shut down! Not to mention that I have a 3 month old who still isn't sleeping very well, so laying awake at night is getting a little annoying.

When my bishop extended that calling, I was in complete SHOCK!! I mean, what the??? ME? At first I thought maybe he was crazy, but he explained his thoughts and reasoning to me, and I got really excited. I am however feeling a little overwhelmed, it's almost the new year and I feel like I am frantically trying to get everything ready for 2010 and it seems like I am wading water and not really getting anywhere!! I know I just need to be patient, it will all come together I am sure. But WOW! What a shock.

On a lighter note, our ward is doing a parade of trees tomorrow for enrichment. I love Christmas and especially love decorating my christmas tree. I was thrilled when they called me and asked me to showcase it tomorrow! I can't wait and am really looking forward to it.

I turned 29 last week. Josh made me make this whole birthday list for him, with the exact items I wanted and where to get them. He told me that I am really hard to shop for and he doesn't want to mess it up. (I don't think I am that hard!) Anyway, he texted me about an hour into his shopping to tell me that he had deviated from the list. By the time he got home, he had only bought 3 things from the list and everything else he picked out. I have to admit I was a little nervous, but he did SO good! I loved the things he got for me. Later he told me, that once he got out shopping he realized that he really did KNOW me and the things I like so he just went to town! Way to go babe!

It seems like everyone on facebook this month has been posting things they are thankful for, I didn't jump on the bandwagon but I thought I would list a few things here.

1. Wyatt's huge grin, especially when I blow on his face!

2. Hunter on a chair at the kitchen sink, trying to do the dishes and spraying water everywhere with the sprayer. (so cute!)

3. Last night I read Hunter "If animals kissed goodnight" and after it was over, he turned to me, took out his binkie, grabbed my face with his two hands, turned me toward him, and kissed me right on the lips. No words or anything, just a sweet kiss, from a sweet boy!

4. Listening to Hunter yell "Chismas Lights" all day long, as we have been decorating!

5. My amazing husband who has been so supportive of me for the last 7 years, and is my best friend.

6. Coca Cola!!!! I can't make it through the day without one! (a little sad, I know, but I don't care!)

7. My beautiful family.

8. I am thankful that my husband has a job AND that he likes it!

9. That Hunter has such good manners. The other day at the store, this nice lady gave him a sticker, and he said Thank You with out even being prompted.

10. That I have such sweet beautiful boys to share my life with.

2009-11-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

2009-11-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

Nandy, Nandy and more Nandy

2009-11-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Unfortuntaly Hunter learned at a very young age, what candy was. Ever since then he has asked me at least once a day for "nandy" I actually usually try not to have any candy in stock, just so i can tell him that it is all gone! But ever since Easter we have had left over candy, so it has become a continual cry of desperation and fits at our house as Hunter fights with me for Candy everyday.

This year for Halloween I just decided to "let it go" so he eats a lot of candy, he's two! Thats what two year olds are suppose to do. So I got Hunter all excited for Halloween by telling him all about walking around, saying "trick or treat" and then people filling up his pumpkin with candy! So after the ward trunk or treat, and trick or treating on Halloween Hunter had a full pumpkin of candy. And now everyday he asks for "nandy" and when I try to hand him just one piece, he says, "no mommy, I wan punkin" and then we duke it out over whether or not he gets to get his pumpkin out. Some days he wins, and some days I win, it just depends on my mood. But we are all now on a sugar high around here!

The boys looked super cute in thier costumes. Wyatt actually liked his costume and didn't cry at all when we put him in it! Hunter is still wearing his costume.... we wants to put in on every day and watch cartoons in his dinosaur. He loves it! What's funny is we could barely get it on him for the first time.... and now we can't get it off!!

Our new trampoline

2009-11-02T21:57:00.000-08:00

Today as I was cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen, I could hear Hunter laughing and yelling in the front room. I came around the counter to see what he was up to........and he was kneeling across Wyatts chest, bouncing on him like he was a trampoline!!! My panic instinct kicked in, and I ran over and grabbed Hunter off of him. Then I yelled at him and sent him to time out. I was probably more scared than anything, I was worried that he had accidently hurt wyatt or caused some type of internal injury. But thankfully, Wyatt seems to be fine. I don't think he was trying to hurt Wyatt, he just wanted to play with him, and bouncing on his chest sounds like a good time! In any case Hunter and I had a long talk about how small babies are, and that even though he wants to have fun with his brother, he has to remember to be soft and NOT climb on the baby! Anyway, it was my first shock, with Hunter and his new brother. I have been waiting for something like this to happen. So now at least I have cleared my first hurdle!

Back up and Running!

2009-11-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

So I accidently erased my ENTIRE blog! It took me a few days to figure out what I had done and recover it. But I was successful! So scroll down for the latest, we are back up and running!

A little bit of everything

2009-10-29T11:43:00.001-07:00

I am usually pretty good about updating my blog regularly, but MAN having two kids sure does limit your time! When I do have a few extra minutes all I want to do is sit down and veg out in front of the T.V. or with a good book. So I have been neglecting my blog lately. But we have been having lots of fun here in the Ball household.

Hunter had his two year check up this week, and Dr.Ally was so impressed with his talking skills! I have to say how much I just love listening to him. Everyday he seems to have some new word that he trys out on me. A couple of days ago, we asked him where his binkie was, and he said "I don know" We didn't even know that he knew what that meant let alone say it. And at night he usually says "mommy, I wan book" but last night he said, "mommy, I wan read book". Anyway I am finding so much joy in watching him learn and discover these new words. I know he loves being able to express himself, and I love listening to him.

He is a great help with Wyatt, and he really loves his little brother. However, we still have our moments. The other day he whacked Wyatt in the head with one of his golf clubs. So Josh asked him to say sorry to his brother, well Hunter looked Josh right in the eyes and as calm as could be said "no". We were just getting ready to go to our ward Halloween party....so we threatened Hunter with time-out and he apologized pretty quickly!

Hunter is one of the sweetest little kids, he has a goood friend (who we call his girlfriend) named Ellie, anyway Ellie got sick last week and so she couldn't come play and Hunter walked around all week saying, "mommy, Ellie sick" with the most concerned little look on his face. It was so cute! Anyway, we are having a ton of fun and loving life with two little kids in the house.

Here are a few pics of the latest happening around our home. I love being a mom, and am so grateful for what sweet boys I have.

So Wyatt weighed 12 lbs and was 23 1/2 inches at his two month check up. He is in the top 60% for weight and 75% for height. We are thinking he is going to be MUCH bigger than his brother!

Blowing out his bday candles! I still can't believe he is 2!! (by the way, Hunter was in the bottom 8% for weight and 20% for height! He is SO small!)

A fairly normal morning for us....Hunter laying on the rug talking to me, while I get ready in the mornings!

I laid Wyatt down on this blankie for some "awake time" when I came out of my bedroom, Hunter had joined him. What cute little brothers! Here they are watching cartoons.

Last but not least, taking a bath. Hunter is the super proud big brother.

Wyatt Kipton Ball

2009-10-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

So, finally....here are the pictures of Wyatt, our newest little addition! He is such a good baby and Josh and I feel so blessed to have him in our home. He has been an amazing sleeper! Which I absolutely love, because Hunter's sleeping habits the first 3 months were a disaster! We are having so much fun getting to know Wyatt and his little personality. He is a great eater (usually) and a genuinely happy baby, he doesn't really cry unless he is hungry, and he loves to just sit there quietly alert looking around at his new world.

Hunter has fallen in love with his new brother. He is constantly running up to me with reports: "mommy, Wyatt sad" "mommy, Wyatt Binkie" "mommy wyatt sleeping" and "mommy Wyatt cry" It is so cute and I love watching him as he shows his love and excitement for his new brother. Yesterday while I was feeding Wyatt, Hunter walked up and said, "I buv (love) you, wyatt" and then gave him a great big kiss. He also loves to help out by putting Wyatt's binkie in his mouth, or running to get Wyatt's diaper, or covering him up with his blankie. He is a great big brother and I am so proud of him!

Anyway, we are having lots of fun! We love our new little baby!

Sleeping at the hospital

Brother snuggles

Hunter wanted a chair, after he saw Wyatt in the swing, so here they are in "Hunter's chair" and "Wyatt's chair"

Hunter woke up from his nap crying becuase he wanted to hold Wyatt. So here we all are having snuggles.

2009-10-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Wyatt

My BIG BOY!! (what happened to the last two years!!!)

So silly!

Brothers :-)

2009-10-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

So tired

It's GAME DAY!

Sleeping again!

2009-10-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Look at all that hair! (It's already falling out :(

"mommy, Wyatt binkie"

2009-10-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here he is!!!! 8 lbs 10 oz and 21.5 in.

The first time I got to hold him. So sweet.

Meeting his big brother

Holding my boys

monkey party

2009-09-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

I know I still haven't blogged about Wyatt.....or posted any pictures....but I promise I will! However, in the meantime, while I gear up for a huge "new baby post" I thought I would share with you the little b-day party I threw for Hunter this week! (Yes my baby is turning TWO!) How did this happen, and so quickly?!?!?!

My friend Keely started a playgroup about a year and a half ago, and we were invited to come. I instanly loved it! It's a great way for Hunter to get in some playtime, and me to get in some mommy time with other moms! All of the kids are close to the same age and play really well together. So this week we had a playgroup b-day party for Hunter! I decided to go with a monkey theme becuase Hunter loves monkeys. I wasn't going to make it a big deal, but somehow (like usual!) I got carried away, and went ALL OUT! But it turned out so cute! and the kids had so much fun! I probably enjoyed it even more than Hunter, it makes me feel so good to do nice special things for my kids and to make them feel special! Below are a few pics!

I "made" suckers! (yes made them :) But I did use a sucker mold, and candy melts to do it!

Here is the finished product. So cute!

Little treats for the goody bags

Finished goody bags.

The table, all decorated for the party!

Place settings

So I decided to bake a specialty cake. I have never done this before and was very nervous. Especially in the beginning. This is a picture of the cake I was attempting to make!

The beginning of the process, at this point I was sure it was NOT going to turn out! I mean just look at it! But I persevered....

Here is the cake after I had trimmed it and frosted the middle.....

And then the final result! I thought I could frost the cake in a half an hour and it took me, and hour and a half! It was very intense, and becuase I am a perfectionist I was being very particular! But I think it turned out really well, for my first try, and I was so happy about it!

Getting ready to celebrate!

Hunter getting ready to blow out the candles!

Opening presents :)

(From L to R) Ryan, Jonah, Hunter and Elley! Blowing bubbles! What cute kiddos! (Carter was more excited about the slide!)

All the kids ( Hunter, Elley, Ryan, Jonah, and Carter)!

Happy Birthday Hunter!!!!

The wait is coming.....to an end!

2009-08-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

So, if you would have asked me 30 weeks ago how serious I was about a VBAC....I would have told you, there was no way I could possibly be talked out of it. My mind was set! And yet, here we are 40 weeks and 4 days..... I actually called the Dr's office in tears yesterday, the minute they opened at 8:30 a.m. I left a message for the nurse to call me back. An hour later I recieved a phone call back, I told the nurse that I was feeling rather irrational that morning, and after a horrible nights sleep had opted for a c-section, but since I had had an hour to cool down, I became a little more rational and reasoned with myself that I could make it to my Dr. appt the next day. (My dr. got a good little kick out of this!) So needless to say, I made it through one more night, convinced that surely I would go into labor....and I woke up this morning still pregnant.

So I met with my Dr. today, and he said "okay, you know what your options are. We can schedule a c-section, or I can give you another week and we'll see." So being a little unsure, I couldn't seem to think of a reply quick enough, and Josh (thankfully) jumped in. He asked the Dr. "realisticly, what are our chances of a successful VBAC?" to which the Dr. responded that in most cases they are really pretty good, but his only concern was that just like Hunter this baby hadn't dropped into my pelvis. He said that is a really good indication of a successful VBAC. Anyway, in the beginning Josh and I had discussed that we would do a VBAC if, we didn't go over the due date, we didn't have to be induced and the baby dropped. But if none of those things happened and the outcome looked similar to Hunter's and we were going to labor all day just to have a c-section, then we would just schedule the c-section.

So today when presented with the options, the stress and anxiety of being over my due date, and being HUGE and uncomfortable, I totally caved!!!! So needless to say, we are headed to the hospital tomorrow morning for a C-section, and you know....I am really okay with it. I feel good about my decision, I am excited to get the baby here and am just grateful that no matter how the baby comes, he get's here safe and healthy. That's what really matters, and I am thankful that I live in a day that medicine allows me so many options. I love my family, and we are so excited to announce the addition of baby Wyatt to our lives tomorrow morning!!

For those of you that want to visit, we will be at St. Lukes downtown until Sat morning. Or you can come by the house anytime after that.

Still waiting!

2009-08-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

So we are officially due on Sunday, which means I still have 2 days before my ACTUAL due date. But Hunter came 4 days early.....so I was hoping that things would be similar with this little guy. So 4 days early came and went, and then three days, and now two days....

Suffice it to say, I am starting to loose my patient optimistic attitude! I have really easy pregnancies, nothing really to complain about. So why can't I deal with being a few days overdue??? I know, I know, I need an attitue adjustment, but I am huge, and hot, and uncomfortable, I can't sleep, I can barely eat (because of the heartburn) and unfortunately, I am unreasonable. Literally, unreasonable! I am ready for this little baby to show himself!

Poor Josh has had to put up with my bad attitude for the last several days, and now even he is begging that the baby get here, and SOON! I must be unreasonable if even Josh can't handle me!! He is usually so patient and easy going. That's how I know it's bad :)

In any case this post is really just a RANT becuase I feel like if I specifically call and complain to someone then I am being selfish, but if I just put it out there on the internet....I am not really complaining to anyone in particular, more like complaining to the universe in general. But I promise to post pics, as soon as baby Wyatt arrives. Until then I probably won't post again, just so you all won't have to listen to another one of these complaints! :)

Playing on the boat!......and.....

2009-07-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

So it has taken us almost HALF the summer to get up to Lucky Peak to play on the boat. But this last week we made it a priority, since little buddy will be arriving soon :)

We invited some friends of ours along and thier kids, and we had such a good time!! When we first got on the boat and took off skimming across the water, our friends little boy Sam said, "This is the best day of my life!" It was so stinkin cute, and it made me remember how sweet it is to be a kid, and really enjoy all the simple, fun things in life.

I was a litte worried at how Hunter would take to the wind blowing in his face, and the water all around, but he LOVED it!! He had so much fun! And he especially liked helping daddy drive. The only thing he didn't like was when we put him in the water with daddy! I think it was a "little to cold." We went back to the boat a few days later, so we got two days in, in one week. The next night Hunter was walking around the house whinning, and I could not figure out what he was saying! Finally Josh informed me, that he was saying "BOAT". So I asked Hunter, "You want to go to the boat?" and his little face just lit up with excitement! Unfortunately we couldn't go that particular night so I had to tell him no. But I was amazed at how much and how well his little mind retains information, and that all on his own he just started remembering and asking for the boat. Not that I am trying to brag or anything, but what a smart little boy! I must be the luckiest mom in the world!!

Family pic, at the end of a fun night! (pay no attention to my HUGE belly!)

Our friends the Skinners, Becky & Ethan, Sam, Ben.

Daddy and Hunter driving the boat.

Hunter and Ethan, little buddies hanging out together.

The look on Hunter's face when we put him in the lake! Priceless :)

Mommy reassuring him, after his cold swim!

We also spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa Bryson this weekend. Grandpa suggested that we head down to the water fountain park in Eagle to play on Saturday. So we did, Hunter was a little fussy, but really started to warm up after a while. We then walked around the Eagle Saturday market, and had some lunch at a yummy restaurant called The Blue Moose Cafe. It was a fun day, and the food was fantastic!

Playing with Grandma in the water fountains :)

Drinking the water..... I don't know why he always does this! I should probably stop him becuase it can't be healthy, but it is so cute :)

I have definately had an interesting week. Hunter sprung a fever of 105 last friday, which lasted 3 days, and was followed two days later with a rash. So we stayed in the house and moped about for almost 6 days! When we finally thought he was feeling better, we took off to do all this fun stuff, I have blogged about above, and then low and behold Saturday night he springs another fever of 104. I was so surprised! I thought we had beat this virus after 6 long days! But his fever only lasted over night, and we kept him at home the next day just to be sure. He seems to be fully recovered now and feeling much better. The Pediatrician thinks he had Roseola, which is a viral illness that causes extremely high fevers followed by a rash. But like I said he is back to his healthy self and seems to be doing great! So we made it through a busy, crazy, sick week :) (Good Job mommy!) Sometimes I just have to congratulate myself cause it's sooooooo much work to be a mom!

Hanging out with daddy, no clothes on except his diaper, trying to bring the fever down.

Last but not least, for those of you that don't have facebook, and haven't seem this yet.....Here I am at 36 weeks, in all my miserable glory! It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't 105 outside everyday!!!! And if my energy didn't seem to be constantly depleted by a toddler running around and a baby growing in my belly! I think more than anything, I have just been so frustrated with myself about how tired I am ALL the time. I really don't remember feeling like this with Hunter. And I have so much I am trying to get done, I just don't have time to be tired!! I feel like I should be able to accomplish all these things, and I just can't! How frustrating! But we are almost there and I am doing great :) And we can't wait for little Wyatt to show himself.

Staying a little to busy!

2009-07-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hunters decorated wagon for the "America Parade"

All of the Ball family cousins with Grandma and Grandpa at cousins camp! Gaylon and MaryAnn put this on every year for the grandkids, and they love it! We had a wonderful time.

Hunter hanging out in the Wagon, while I decorate it for our "Standing Tall for America" parade, in the HOT July heat!

Playing in the sprinklers. He has taken to drinking the water lately. It is so funny!

Happy Fathers day daddy! They got matching hats to gear them up for BSU football season!

So July has been a very busy month for us! When I turned to July on my calendar, I was relieved to see that we didn't have much going on this month......Well, not much turned into quite a bit and we have been endlessly running from one fun activity to the next. I am however relieved that things have started to slow down, because I have procrastinated getting ready for the baby, and with only 4 weeks left, time is growing short and I am freaking out!

So we plan to spend the next few weeks, organizing the house (I am totally nesting!) Everything needs to be gutted out, cleaned and reorganized! And getting out and putting together all of the baby gear. Here are a few pics of the last few weeks.

Hunters first trip to POJO's. Here he is riding the carousel. He had a great time! I probably had more fun, just watching him! :)

Riding the "hor-sie"

If you ask Hunter what cowboy's say, he responds with "Yah- hee" (what he means is Yee-Ha)!

Coming down the slide. I asked him if he wanted to hold my hand, he very fimly said "No mommy!"

Driving a circus van.....should I be worried?

Driving Fred Flinstones car! What a cutie!!

God Bless America

2009-07-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

So today Hunter and I drove up to Sandy Point with my friend Becky and her kids. I was a little unsure how Hunter would take to playing in a lake (rather than a swimming pool). And he was a little unsure in the beginning as well, but as the afternoon wore on, he really started to warm up and we had a great time playing in the water. Hunter was scared to walk on the uneven sand in the beginning and wouldn't go anywhere without holding my hand. But by the end of the afternoon he was walking on his own, venturing into the (freezing) water and even going in up to his thighs! It was so cute and we had a ton of fun.

I used to be a huge sun lover! But after a rather severe burn a few years ago in Bora Bora, I have been a little more tentative out in the sun. I don't seem to be the kind of person that can last for hours on a sandy beach without regretting it later. This use to never bother me, but the older I get, the less I CARE if I am a beautiful bronze color, an the more I appreciate waking up in the morning after a fun day in the sun, to skin that isn't blazing red, and doesn't hurt everytime I move. I think I have finally realized that I will never be a beautiful bronze color, and I am okay with that. This was my first long stint in the sun, in several years, and I am happy to report..... no burn :) Although I probably owe this to three rounds of sunscreen and my t-shirt that I barely took off!

Hunter, looks like he has inherited his daddy's skin (thankfully)! Even though he is a very blonde and pale little boy, his skin just tans right up...no burns at all. I am so glad. One of my biggest worries when I realized how blonde he was, was that he would burn like his mommy. However I think I got lucky!

Anyway, had my dr. appt yesterday, I am officially 32 weeks....almost 33. And I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by. If I deliver at 39 weeks like I did with Hunter, then I am only 6 weeks away! Crazy! But I started gutting out my house this week, and freaking out about what I still need to purchase, so I think my nesting instinct is finally kicking in! It will be a whirlwind of the next 6 weeks, but I think I may actually be ready before this baby gets here!

We are heading up into the mountains tomorrow for the 4th. I really love the 4th and love to sing all the good ol classic America songs. Even though our country seems to be going to **** in a handbasket, I still feel a great sense of pride to be an American, and am grateful everyday to all the people who have sacrificed thier lives and freedom for this great country. And I love knowing this is the promised land and that at all times, Christ is at the helm of it. Here are a few of the lyrics from one of my favorite America songs.....

God bless America
Land that I love
Stand beside her,
and guide her,
thru the night with the light
from above!

Happy 4th everyone!

We got a JOB!!!!

2009-06-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

So great news everyone!!!! Josh got a call from the CPA firm in Meridian that he has been interviewing with.... and they offered him a job today! He is going to start part time next week, and work part time through the summer, getting to know clients and getting comfortable with his job, then in the fall he will begin full time!!

We are so excited! Benefits, paid vacation, a salary....Wow! We are so happy and so grateful! We have been praying that Josh would be able to find a job and that all would go well. We started to get worried in the fall when he wasn't getting many interviews. But my dad just so happened to have a connection and helped us get this interview!

Needless to say, it went well and after several interviews we have a JOB! Truly though we both feel so grateful that our prayers have been answered and we have been so blessed by our Heavenly Father. We are happy that we don't have to move across country and that we will be better able to provide for our family! Thanks to all our friends and family for your love and support! We truly appreciate it.

Congratulations babe!! You are amazing & I love you :)!!

Girls Camp.....

2009-06-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

So next week begins our stake girls camp in Cascade. I was very excited about camp in January when they announced the date and theme and all that. And of course thier was no way I was going to miss camp!!! I mean come on, anyone who knows me, knows I love camping. Knowing I would be 7 mos pregnant still didn't hinder my excitement.

But as the months have flown by and I have spent the last week, fully engaged in getting everything ready that I am in charge of, I have become increasingly tired and less excited. I am still happy and ready to go, but I am starting to feel exhausted and worried about the stress I will be putting on my body, along with the complete lack of sleep that comes along with girls camp. I am sure it will be a ton of fun, and I will love it once I get there. But just getting there at this point seems like so much WORK!!

Anyway wish me luck, I leave next Tuesday.... and thanks so much to those of you that are taking turns watching Hunter for me!!! :)

Mnana & graduation!!!!

2009-06-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

For the last week Hunter has been saying Mnana. He will look at me very seriously and with a little question mark at the end say, "Mnana" For the life of us, Josh and I haven't been able to figure out what this word means or what in the world he is trying to say!

However yesterday while I was changing his diaper he said it again, so I stood him and and told him to SHOW me Mnana. He opened up his diaper drawer and pulled out a swim diaper and said "Mnana". So I started laughing and said "you want to go swimming?" all the sudden his little face just lit up, and he started shouting "Mnana, Mnana" Who knew!! But I am glad we finally got that one figured out! Needless to say we spent the rest of the afternoon out in our little backyard pool.

Also Josh finished school on Thurdsay!! He is offically a college graduate!!! These last few years have been long and hard, but I am so proud of him for sticking with it and finishing his degree! Great job babe! We are so happy to be done with school, and are excitedly looking forward to the next phase in our lives.

Catching Up- It's a long one!

2009-05-29T18:42:00.001-07:00

So it seems that life has gotten away from me lately! I really don't know what is going on.... For a couple of weeks back in April I was feeling a little sad and lonely. The weather was still pretty cold and we couldn't do a lot of outside activities yet. I felt a little trapped in my house and of course it happened just as Hunter hit 18 months, which you moms out there know means "Clingy toddlers". I guess I figured in all my naivete that this phase would pass me by because Hunter has been such a great and easy baby. However, it did not pass me by, and thus I have been feeling a little smothered and frustrated. In the meantime Josh has been crazy busy finishing his semester with 18 credits of upper division accounting classes and working part time to help pay the bills. So he has been very busy, stressed, exhausted and he hasn't been around a lot. I am not trying to jump on some sad soapbox, it was just an exhausting couple of months!!!

Things are looking much better now. I have adjusted to Hunter's new "attitude" and have started using "time out" for the constant whinning! Now I say to Hunter, "Do you want to go in time out?" He looks at me and while shaking his head says, "no" with a very stubborn little attitude. Then I remind him that he needs to stop whinning or else he will go into time out. Suprisingly this has been working very well. We seem for the time being to have found a compromise! Plus the weather has been great lately, so we have been spending our afternoons outside in the pool, at the park, or playing in the dirt. I have also discovered play-doh, which has quickly become a favorite of Hunter's! (and mommy's.)

Josh has finished the semester! (Great Job babe!) and has a three week summer course he is taking right now that ends next Thursday. He will then be officially DONE with school! BSU doesn't do summer graduation so he will get his diploma mailed to him in August and will "walk" in December for graduation. He has had 3 interviews with an accounting firm here in Meridian and things are looking very promising. We are very hopeful and are constantly praying for the lords guidance, help and direction as we approach this new and exciting phase in our lives. The company he is interviewing for is awesome and we really like all they have to offer. We should find out in the next two weeks whether or not he has the job. So keep us in your prayers. Finding a job in this economy would be a great blessing and bring a lot of peace to our constant anxieties!

Hunter is getting sooooo big! And because I am a mom I reserve the right to brag about my little man! :) He is saying close to 30 words. He knows all his body parts and can say most of his animal sounds. His favorite songs are "Popcorn popping" and "the wheels on the bus" I will be in the middle of making dinner and he will walk up to me pull on my pant leg, and say "mommy" and when I look down he will be twirling his arms and saying "wound and wound" (for wheels on the bus) the first time he did this I was so excited, becuase I realized all the sudden that he had these independent thoughts and he was actually communicating them to me! It was a very exciting moment for me! On another note, he has also started saying "I wan i" or (I want it) which is sometimes very cute, and other times very annoying, especially if he repeats it over and over again! He loves to play in the water more than anything. He loves to run through the sprinkler and he really likes to play with his Mr. Potato head. We go to the park at least once a week, and the minute we get out of the car he starts saying "side, side, side!" (slide). He is so much fun and a bundle of energy. Sometimes I look at him, and think about how cute and sweet he is, and I wonder how in the world I got so lucky! His endearing little smile melts my heart, and a half hour before dinner when he starts chanting "cookie" and I know I should tell him he can't have a cookie right before dinner, he smiles up at me with those beautiful eyes and cocks his head to the side and says "pea" or (please)....and I just can't refuse. He is such a good boy, one of his favorite things to do is to clean and organize, so he loves picking up his toys or arranging his blocks in order (mommy loves this trait)!

But then again, yesterday I gave him a bag of trail mix while he was watching Barney (which is his favorite show) and when I walked into the living room, he had dumped it all over the couch!! It was costco trail mix so the bag was HUGE and so was the mess! But these are the moments that you just have to laugh, so I cleaned it up and walked into the bathroom, only to discover that at some point during the day he had colored on the wall with a red colored pencil, and dumped a package of ritz crackers on the floor in there. (I wasn't really laughing after that.) So I cleaned it up and then put him outside, so he couldn't make any more messes in the house. Needless to say, we had a bag of Bertolli pasta for dinner that night. Just add water, nice and easy for mommy, after a long day.

I have been incredibly exhausted this pregnancy. I am sure it is because I have toddler this time around and can't nap or sleep in like I did when prego with Hunter. In any case I feel like a tornado has whipped through me by the end of the day and I collapse into bed exhausted each night! Wyatt, however is blissfully unaware of all this and begins his constant kicking the moment I lie down. Luckily I can sleep right through it :) I am prepping myself for the exhuastion that comes with a new baby and trying to get ready by making lots of lists of all the things I need to do and buy before the baby comes. Lists for some crazy reason really calm me down, now I just need to begin crossing things off the lists. But we are slowly getting there and we already have tons of boy stuff and still 12 weeks to accomplish all of this. I am suprisingly handling this really well, and don't have a lot of anxiety about not being ready with months to spare! Which is saying a lot all things considered.

Now for the fun stuff! I haven't posted forever! So I will catch you up on the lasted with some cute pics and the latest in our lives!

Hunter smiling for the camera but refusing to look away from the T.V. He loves T.V. particualarly; Barney, curious george and little einsteins.

Freaking out because there is pudding all over his clothes!

Getting his first haircut and squirting mommy! (Hey it keeps him happy!)

Dying Easter eggs. Hunter would dip his entire hand into the cup to pull the eggs out. Most of our eggs ended up brown because he dipped them into every color!

Showing off his dyed hands.

The infamous Easter egg hunt at Ball manor. Hunter loved this!

He was really excited when he realized that the eggs opened and there was CANDY inside!

All the kids from Hunter's playgroup. (Carter, Hunter, Elly, Ryan)

Really excited about his "bear slippers"

Playing with his fishie

Our first swimming pool. He was a little tentative about getting in at first.

Then he started to warm up....

Now we are having fun!

I know spaghetti faces get old, but this one was just too cute for me to pass up :)

His first battle wound!! Hunter took a tumble down the stairs and got his first big "Owie"

If you notice the dirt in the background on the floor......this is Hunter's new favorite game. He loves to bring dirt into the kitchen and dump it on the floor! Luckily it is easily sweeped up so I don't really mind. As long as he is being good and having fun!

Just finishing off the zuchini cake batter :)

Camping at GrandJean! This was an amazing trip and Hunter had a great time. So did mommy. We really look forward to this every year. I am so glad it is finally here.

Don't ask! I have no idea?!?!

Digging in the sand. Luckily grandpa Bryson wasn't with us this weekend...becuase as most of you know he is a little particular about the dirt around his trailer. He doesn't like holes, but I am pretty sure for Hunter he will happily make an exception! As long as we refill them afterwards!

Pondering the deeper aspects of life.

Here we are at Redfish Lake. (arguably the most beautiful lake in Idaho) Hunter is showing off a stick he found in the sand.

Here we are eating cookies.

Hunter snuggling with his dada.

Just enjoying the day.

Throwing rocks with dad! To me this is a really sweet precious picture. My baby boy, with the love of my life. There are special moments when you realize that life doesn't get much better than this, and for me this was one of them. Josh teaching his son to throw rocks. What cute boys :)

A few fun pics

2009-03-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

This was the first time Hunter actually smiled when I asked him to!

Sharing his cashews with Trigger.

Takin a bath! (gross I know... but it was just for a few mintues!) Hunter was on his way out and Trigger was on his way in!

Learning to walk.

Going for a horsey ride on daddy.

We have been trying to find ways to keep Hunter busy this winter with indoor activities. Here are a few of the pictures we captured playing around the house, and learning to walk outside.

I also scored on the diapers! I hit Walgreens first thing Saturday morning, when they were restocking and I purchased 30 packages of diapers for $30 dollars!!!! Whooo-Hoooo!

16 weeks and counting....

2009-03-11T22:13:00.001-07:00

So Good news from the doc today! We still have a heartbeat (wheeew!)

He said the baby sounds great.....He is guessing it is a boy because of the heart rate. I asked him if he is usually right, and he said, 50% of the time! (hahahaha)

The 20 week ultrasound is scheduled for Monday April 6th, then we get to find out the sex! And make sure that the baby looks healthy. I will keep you all posted!

Sick Baba...

2009-03-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

So Hunter is sooo sick! He has been crying almost non stop for the last two days! He won't sleep and hasn't eaten since lunch time yesterday. I feel so bad for him! This morning I brought him out onto the couch to watch cartoons and he just layed down flat on the couch, when I tried to rub his back he just started crying. Poor baby, I finally broke down and made a Dr. appt this afternoon, hopefully we will get good news and a prescription, rather than the classic, "It's a virus, go home and wait it out!"

I think he has an ear infection and I am so tired....Sick babies love to be held, and I love holding him, don't get me wrong. Just a little tired that's all.

Anyway are going to the OB tomorrow for my 16 week appt. I am so excited I can hardly wait. I always look forward to my doctor's appointments, and seeing the babys progress. It seems like this pregnancy is just flying by. I am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat again, just to reassure myself. I have this uncontrollable fear after my first two miscarriages, that every pregnancy is going to result in miscarriage. I know that isn't true, I mean Hunter is here isn't he! But still until I hit about 20 weeks and can feel the baby moving on a regular daily basis I really worry. So a heartbeat tomorrow will be very reassuring! Anyway.....keep you posted!

BIG SAVINGS!

2009-03-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

So for the first time in my life, i decided to actually buy something cheap (or thrifty if thats a nicer term!). I don't usually do this because it always seems to me like a big waste of time. And I would rather spend the extra money and save myself the time than really be a bargain hunter!

However, last week I recieved and email about $5 off coupons for Huggies diapers. Now I LOVE huggies...but they are so expensive so I usually just buy costco brand diapers. Anyway I know $5 off is a huge bargain... and then I read that Walgreens was having a sale on all thier huggies for $10, and then I read that if you spend $25 dollars on Huggies you get a $10 dollar register rebate. Now when I first read all this I had no idea what it meant....but I decided to do a little research. I researched info on a few blogs, read all the rules for couponing at Walgreens and decided to act! The breakdown works like this. $10 huggies - $5 0ff c0upon = $5 Huggies. Plus buy 3 packs and get $10 in register rewards so you only pay $5 for 3 jumbo packs of diapers!

Now like I said I have never been a big bargain hunter, and if this deal hadn't accidently come my way I never would have known about it, but it just seemed to good to pass up. So, you can only print two coupons per person, so I called my mom and some friends and collected 24 coupons! Imagine all the cheap diapers, especially with the new baby on the way! This morning I got up and headed to my local Walgreens to "stock up" and low and behold...... they were out, and so I tried 3 more stores, all out, and then a very nice cashier informed me she thought all the stores were out because she had been recieving phone calls all morning from women trying to find a store that still had some in stock. She also informed me that most deals like this sell out on Sunday.....I CAN'T shop on Sunday! So Unfair.

So here I sit, with 24 coupons, cash to spend and....no diapers! I did hear a rumor that they restock on Saturday morning, I think I will give it another go, hopefully I will get a few. Josh even offered to come with me and to fill both our carts as soon as the huggies truck pulls up! (He's so funny!) Anyway I will keep you posted about my thrifty adventure.

In the meantime I found this amazing blog: The address is www.athriftymom.com This woman lives in Caldwell, she is the queen of thrify, on her blog she matches up store coupons, manufacterers coupons, and store sales to get stuff totally cheap, for free, or even to get paid for buying it. No I am not kidding! Just check it out. This week she has matched Walgreens and Albertsons ads for great discounts and freebies. Totally awesome. I may just become a frugal shopper yet?!

He Walked!!

2009-03-04T23:05:00.000-08:00

So I was beginning to give up hope that Hunter would ever walk. Everyone said, "you'll just wake up one day and he will be walking." Yeah right!!
But I woke up one day and he just started walking between Josh and I!!!!
He's not doing it a lot yet, but steps are steps and it is HUGE progress, so I am not complaining. We've got three weeks to try and master it before he enters nursery.....wish me luck! :)

Paris

2009-03-04T11:56:00.001-08:00

The Sacre Coeur (one of the many amazing churches we visited)

The Notre Dame (the backside)

Walking along the Siene, the Pont Neuf is in the background.

The Entrance to the Louvre.

In front of the Eiffel Tower.

In September Josh and I took the trip of a lifetime to Paris, France. My sister moved to Paris about a year and a half ago. We had been planning a trip to Europe for quite some time, but when my sister called to announce that her wedding plans would take place in Paris, we got really motivated!

Anyway we had an amazing experience visiting some of the sights in Paris and exploring thier ancient and amazing history. I mean come on people this is the home of Napolean, Victor Hugo, Marie Antoinette and some of the most amazing artists of all time! We visted the Louvre, where we saw the Mona Lisa, The Virgin of the Rocks, The Coronation of Napolean, The Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory (some of the greatest artwork in the world). We walked down the Champs Elysses, and under the Arc de Triomph (which Napolean ordered built to commemorate his many victories), along the siene, across the Pont Neuf (one of the oldest brides in Paris, built in the 1500's). We saw the sight of the creation of the Guillotin, enetered one of the Grandest Churches ever built, the Notre Dame, and made our way to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We also visited the Muse d'Orsay (the museum where all the impressionists artwork is.) We saw works by Van Gogh, Monet, and tons of others. And on our very last day we took the train to Versaille to explore the castle and amazing gardens!

It was definately the most amazing trip we have ever been one. To top it off we were able to be there to see my sister marry the love of her life and find the happiness she has always wanted! It was truly amazing. I Posted tons of pics so enjoy!

My Boys

2009-03-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

So we bought Hunter a white shirt and tie for Christmas. Which I think is so cute! (Of course I am totally biased.) Anyway, he and his daddy looked so nice together in their white shirts and ties I couldn't help but snap a few pictures! He looks like a future litte missionary! Of course it only takes about 30 minutes before he is pulling at the neck and tie, untucking it and ruining all of mommies careful planning of such a cute outfit. But i guess that's as they say.... "Boy's will be boys!"

My Blog

2008-03-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon, and start a blog... Everyone is doing it, so I thought I might as well. I am going to use this blog to post my favorite, poems quotes, etc... as well pics and videos, and random updates on how things are going.

Josh and I just got back from San Diego! We had a wonderful time visitng with Jon & Sam. We visited The Zoo, Sea World, and Magic Mountain. We also took Hunter to the ocean for his first beach outing. He loved it! And of course we dined at some amazing restaraunts! It was so much fun! And Jon took amazing portraits for us!! I have to admit we suprisingly really loved it there...so maybe when Josh graduates....Who Knows.?..?.